Some fought in the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq. Others served in the jungles of Vietnam and Korea. Countless more have risked their lives in the air and on the sea protecting our interests at home and abroad. As military veterans, we’ve served in various branches and during different decades, but there’s something that binds us: integrity and honesty.

That’s why we feel so passionately about responding to former U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter’s dishonest television ad. In it, she attacks Rep. Frank Guinta for cutting benefits from veterans programs and opposing funding for veterans health care and housing.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Frank Guinta is an honorable man who tirelessly fights for Granite State veterans and military families.

The first vote Carol Shea-Porter’s ad cites, HR 2055, the fiscal year 2012 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, actually had $7.9 billion more than the previous level of funding. As a testament to the benefits this bill brought to our nation’s heroes, it passed the House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support in a vote of 411–5. It then passed the Senate with similarly bipartisan margins and was signed into law by President Obama.

The other vote her ad cites uses Washington procedural stunts designed for “gotcha” political gimmicks like the one Shea-Porter is trying to pull. What she hopes you will not realize is that the underlying bill she references actually increased funding for veterans programs by $8 billion. It also provided $75 million for 10,000 housing vouchers, which was at the previous year’s level and was the amount requested by the President.

We know firsthand that Frank Guinta has been a leader in supporting our Granite State military veterans. He believes in ensuring that they receive the benefits they have earned and rightfully deserve. Over the past 20 months, he has fought to finally make sure Granite Staters who wore the uniform receive the medical care they deserve by fighting for a full-service VA medical facility here in New Hampshire.

Contrary to the dishonest statements made by Shea-Porter, Frank Guinta has worked in a bipartisan way to reduce veteran homelessness. He especially impressed us when he hosted a job fair specifically for military veterans to help put those who served back to work — something former Congresswoman Shea-Porter never did.

When it comes to issues concerning us veterans, Frank Guinta has been a steadfast supporter. On the other hand, we are appalled at former Rep. Carol Shea-Porter’s willingness to deceive New Hampshire’s heroes about an issue so personal to us and the thousands of other veterans who call the Granite State home. As military veterans ourselves who believe strongly in integrity and honesty, our message to Carol Shea-Porter is: “We deserve better.”

Retired Army Lt. Col. Gary Terhune of Rye is immediate past president of the New Hampshire Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America. Maj. Frederick C. Rice of Hampton is a former Special Forces member and state representative. Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Joseph K. Simeone of Stratham is a former deputy adjutant general for the New Hampshire National Guard and a former wing commander of the 157th Air Refueling Wing at Pease Air National Guard Base.